Voices: Labour was traditionally the home for black voters – it shouldn’t be anymore

Historically, black and minority ethnic people have voted Labour because the Tories were perceived as a racist political party. The Labour Party was seen as the home of the black vote, illustrated by Jeremy Corbyn MP with his tweet: “Only Labour can be trusted to unlock the talent of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people” and that we “have been held back by the Conservatives”.

But times have changed. The recent Forde Report, commissioned by Keir Starmer, concluded that the party is an “unwelcoming place for people of colour”. How can Labour preach to others if it cannot get its own house in order? The advancement of Kemi Badenoch’s candidacy in the Tory leadership race also shows that times have changed.

At the last general election, I voted for the Conservatives rather than Labour. I think black people should drop their historical affinity for Labour because they’re as bad as the Tories in some ways. Keir Starmer’s unwillingness to address the Forde report’s findings should be shocking to people who predominantly support Labour for their anti-racist values.

When I revealed my vote for the Tory party, many black Labour supporters on Twitter cited racism as a key factor in their scorn for Boris Johnson and the party. While I am more fiscally conservative, I am particularly worried about racism, as well as black and brown conservative MPs, that peddle “anti-woke” politics with racist undertones.

However, I voted for the political manifesto which focused on education, employment, business and the wider economy. We have also seen an increase in the number of ethnic minorities within the Conservative Party, with those rising to its top ranks within the cabinet, which is much higher when compared with the Labour Party.

While Conservative MPs and members largely saw Kemi Badenoch’s position in the leadership race as confirmation that they are not a racist party, I don’t believe her views align with the wider black community. Her “anti-woke” rhetoric pits her against the black community, many of whom argue that anti-woke means anti-black. The phrase “stay woke” stems from African-Americans raising awareness of racist injustice. However, the term “woke” has since been widened to consider all forms of injustice and is now galvanised by racists, and weaponised against anyone with consideration for marginalised groups.

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I feared that her leadership bid success would be used by the Tory party to validate their racist immigration policy, which came into fruition with an endorsement from a far-right political party. I’m pretty sure it was this support from that party, and other racists on Twitter, that likely scuppered her chances of progressing any further in the race.

Nevertheless, in my view, the Forde report shows Labour isn’t as strong on eradicating racism as it claims to be. The report highlights anti-black racism within Labour that its leader is yet to address, or acknowledge with an apology to its black and ethnic MPs.

This is why I think Labour should no longer be viewed as the home of the “black vote”. Yes, there are Conservative policies that appear to be xenophobic and racist in nature, such as its Rwanda asylum policy, but the Labour party has its own problems.

Simply voting Labour on the basis of racism within the Conservative Party is no longer a valid reason. Black people, who may be leaning towards Tory should consider that when voting in future elections.